The Mainframe Makes a ‘Mad Men’ Cameo

A recent SHARE blog post discussed the mainframe’s role in last week’s Mad Men episode where it introduced an IBM System/360 computer to the office of Sterling Cooper & Partners.

With all its mystery and potential, the mainframe provoked a mixed reaction from the ad shop’s team. Some cheered the promise that it would accelerate business, while others worried it would replace humans. (It did, quite literally, displace the creative team from their communal workspace.)

This season takes place in 1969, the year of radical change that heralded the first ATM, the Boeing 747’s first flight and the first manned mission to the moon (with an assist from the mainframe).

As we celebrate the mainframe’s 50th anniversary, how exactly did its Mad Men cameo crystalize how it revolutionized not just computing but the very culture we live in? Find out more in the original SHARE blog post here.